Enigmatic Soul
by Wonder and Ashes
Summary: Buffy knows from experience that feral vampires are never a good thing. Not even Angel, with his soul, could control his demon. But Spike proves her wrong. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer**: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Story Notes**: First posted on _Elysian Fields_ August 19th 2014 as a response to a challenge.

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><p>Spike. Alive.<p>

That's what Fred told me, anyway.

Something to do with the amulet, ghosts and the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart, but none of that matters. All that matters is one simple fact: Spike's back.

And he's been back for some time, or so Fred told me. I was angry at him for not telling me, until Fred explained the whole ghost business to me; he couldn't touch anything, including a phone. But couldn't someone else have told me instead?

Nope. Angel didn't approve of it, of course. He believes that I need to "move on" and live my own life – or Angel speak for "if I can't have her, no one can".

So when Fred told me the pair were in trouble, I felt nothing for Angel. But I'm worried about Spike, who has only recently become corporeal again.

Arriving at Wolfram & Hart with Dawn and Faith in tow, we're told of the situation; the universe is going haywire due to the existence of two vampires with a soul. Something about a 'Shanshu' prophecy, and that it needs to choose which vampire it applies to. Angel and Spike travelled to this abandoned opera house in Nevada in order to fight for the right to the prophecy, but neither have been heard from since.

With weapons – and an angry rant I plan on giving Angel – ready, I accept the offer of a flight to Nevada. Dawn comes with me, while Faith choosing to stay in LA to wait. She and Gunn have a thing, apparently.

The opera house is silent when we get there. Dawn and I creep inside, looking for any signs of the two vampires. I expected a fight; Angel and Spike go as well together as fire and water. I'm surprised to find the place empty.

And yet, my Slayer senses detect two vampires. And someone else.

"Come on," I call out. "I know you're there."

I hear a chuckle. I don't recognize the voice, or the face when he steps out of the shadows. A man; young-looking, and covered in tattoos.

"I was hoping you'd show up," says the man. "Now things should get more interesting."

I frown. "Whoever you are, I know the vampires are here; the ones with souls. They came to take some weird test."

"The test was a fake," says the man. "A set-up to get them here. They're an experiment to see if my plan could work – with some revenge against Angel thrown in."

"You know Angel?" asks Dawn.

The man doesn't pay attention to her. His eyes are on me, and only me. "Lindsey McDonald; formerly Wolfram & Hart."

I recognize the name; Angel mentioned him to me once. "You fell from grace, I see."

"I was relieved at first; being out of the firm's clutches felt like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders," says Lindsey. "But then I began to wonder; what could I do with my life? When I was at the firm, I had a purpose. But after leaving, I did nothing but wander. Everything changed for me when Angel showed up."

My eyebrows rise. "You sure you don't need to come out of the closet? It's not so bad. My friend Willow-"

He interrupts me by laughing. "I don't need to hear any of your stories. They won't matter in about five minutes time, because then you'll be dead."

"How so?" I ask. "Those tattoos may _make_ you look all tough and manly, but I haven't met a normal guy who can take me."

"Oh, I won't be the one fighting you." He holds up a weird looking gem, purple in colour. "See this? I discovered it while wandering through this very desert. I later discovered that it does something…rather interesting to any vampires in its presence."

That's when the worry starts. _Spike…_ "What did you do to him?"

"Angel?" He laughs. "And they call it puppy love…"

"I wasn't talking about Angel."

"For me, it's all about Angel," says Lindsey. "The gem forces them to become feral; to become the demon they truly are. If you thought they were animals before, you haven't seen them in a state like this. They don't recognize anyone they may know; all they know is to kill. And the best part? The soul doesn't matter. The demon cancels it out."

My worry grows. I remember what Angel was like when he came back from Hell; he didn't recognize me and even tried to kill me. The only reason he went after the Jekyll and Hyde guy was because I wasn't in his line of sight.

"So that's your big plan, huh?" I ask.

"That's only the beginning," he says. "I'll track down more vampires and I'll turn them feral, too. The world will fall into chaos. But now, it's time for revenge – and what sweeter revenge than having Angel kill the love of his life. Of course, he won't know it at first, but then I'll release him from the sway of the gem and let him _see_ exactly what he's done."

That's when I hear it; an unmistakably familiar growl. I turn to face the shadows and all I can see is Angel's game face, watching me hungrily. I can't see Spike anywhere, but I know he's around somewhere; I can sense him.

"Dawn, go."

"But-"

"You won't stand a chance against Angel even _with_ my help. Now go."

I can see that she wants to argue, but she doesn't. She's able to climb up the wall behind us before hiding among the seats on the next level.

Angel steps fully out of the shadows, his growling getting louder, and I tighten my grip on the axe in my hands. I don't want to kill him; even after finding out about Spike, I can't do it. He's still supposed to be a good guy, after all. I'll just have to knock him out for now.

I hope that Spike won't join in. Fighting two master vampires would be near enough impossible.

Angel lunges, and I dodge his attack before trying to kick his feet out from underneath him. He jumps to avoid me; despite being feral, he still seems to know the basics of fighting. He growls and lunges again, and this time I use the blunt end of the axe to whack him upside the head.

He shakes it off before trying again. No matter how many times I counter-attacked, Angel just keeps on coming. I almost chop his head off, but I can't bring myself to do it; he takes advantage of my hesitation and knocks the axe from my grasp.

"Buffy!"

I regain my footing before delivering several punches to his face. A hard punch was able to knock him out cold last time, but things are different this time; it's like the gem is making him harder to kill, too. My arms grow tired, and he just keeps on coming.

Then it happens; he knocks me over, and I land on my back. I hear Dawn scream my name again as Angel crouches down to my level, growling. He eyes my neck, and I'm reminded of the time when he drank from me. He'd been in control then – if I can even call that control. His soul had been intact, and yet he almost killed me. Without his soul keeping him in line, I know he'll drain me dry.

It's over – until a blur leaps over me, tackling Angel away with a loud roar.

I sit up…and gasp.

It's Spike, crouching in front of me as if he's a lion protecting his mate.

"Spike?"

He turns to me, but instead of the mindless killer I see in Angel's eyes, all I can see is…Spike. He gives me a soft, comforting look before leaning over and nuzzling my neck.

Angel snarls and Spike snarls back, standing over me and ready to pounce should Angel attack.

Spike knows who I am – and he's protecting me.

"This isn't supposed to happen." I can hear the worry and confusion in Lindsey's voice. I don't blame him; I'm just as confused, recalling Lindsey's words. "How is this possible?"

"It's kinda obvious," I hear Dawn call down. "Spike fell in love with Buffy _before_ he got his soul. Ergo, his demon loves her; it was his demon that chose to get a soul for her."

He chose to get a soul for me, something that shouldn't even be possible. Spike never needed a soul to love, I realize then. And yet, I made him feel that he needed one – _Angel_ made him feel that he needed one.

Everything comes crashing down on me. All those years, I thought Angel was special because of his shiny little soul, and yet it was Spike who loved me no matter what, fought with me, never gave up on me. Even without his soul, he did more than Angel ever did with one.

"That's impossible," says Lindsey. "A vampire-demon can't love."

"Spike can," I state. "Because he's special."

Angel leaps.

Spike meets him and they fight like animals, clawing and biting one another as growls and roars echo throughout the opera house. I climb to my feet while Dawn leaps down by my side, and together we watch as Spike gains the upper hand and sends Angel flying into a solid wall. The blow knocks him out.

Knowing with every ounce of my body that it's safe, I step forwards to meet Spike. He gazes at me with awe – that awe I'd missed oh so much – before purring as my palm cups his cheek.

"No!" We both turn towards Lindsey, who's holding out the gem towards Spike. It's glowing. "Kill her!"

But Spike isn't at all affected by the gem. Instead he just growls and stalks towards Lindsey, and I join him in the confrontation. Lindsey's eyes widen before he turns to run, but Spike and I are faster; Spike tackles him to the floor while I grab the gem from his hand.

"I'll be taking that," I say.

Spike's fangs are inches away from Lindsey's neck, but he's restraining himself. He looks up at me, his eyes asking me what he should do.

I sigh. "Just let him go. He's not worth it. Angel can deal with him later."

With a warning growl, Spike backs off Lindsey, letting the man up. "This isn't over."

"You're Angel's problem, not mine," I remind him. "Wasn't that what you said? It's all about Angel."

He nods. "For what it's worth, I hope your vampire is the one spoken of in the prophecy. He deserves it more than Angel does."

I agree. Angel was cursed with a soul while Spike fought for his. Angel could never love me without his soul while Spike could. Angel almost killed me, and it was Spike who protected me. I guess there was a trial happening here, after all.

Lindsey walks away, and only after he's gone I realize that I don't know how to use the gem. So I grab my axe and smash it instead.

The change is almost instant. I look at Spike and see him blink suddenly, coming back to himself. Then he shifts out of his game face and turns towards me.

"Buffy?"

The weight of losing him and trying to live without him for weeks suddenly comes rushing back. I cross the short distance between us and throw my arms around him, burying my face into his chest.

"You're alive."

"Not quite, luv."

"You know what I mean." I pull away from the hug but stay close, linking my hand with his. "You knew who I was."

"Could never forget you." He smiles.

We hear a groan and look over at where Angel still lies. He's picking himself up, hand to his head, and only when he's on his feet does he see me and remember what he almost did.

Bring on the brooding.

"Buffy! I'm sorry!" He hurries over. "I wasn't in control! The demon, it-"

I don't let him finish. Instead I slap him, hard. "Don't you _dare_ give me _any_ of that crap! And while I'm hitting you…" I slap him again. "That was for _not_ telling me about Spike. I mean, come on! Green eyed monster, much?"

He at least looks guilty about it. "I can explain." And then he looks at me with that kicked puppy expression; the one I'd fallen for so many times over the years.

But I've grown. It doesn't work on me anymore. "No. You really can't. Because that's all you've ever done, Angel; explain. Excuse yourself for things you know I'll hate you for. First off, there's nothing to explain about Spike; you claimed that I needed to move on, but Spike's my best friend and I deserve to know whether he's alive or not. You complain whenever I barge in on your life, and yet you still think you can run _mine_. It doesn't work like that."

"Buffy-"

I slap him again to shut him up. "And that whole 'I've got a soul so I'm special' crap? You made me think that you were two different people when it was so far from the truth I can't believe myself for believing you. If any of that was even true, then Spike would never have fallen in love with me. You just can't live with the fact that part of you wants to _kill_ me. Your soul half may love me, Angel, but your demon doesn't. I got that message loud and clear today. I hope you did, too."

He tries to reach out towards me, but I slap his hand away and step back, once again linking my hand with Spike's. I don't miss the look of awe in the younger vampire's eyes.

"Spike loves me, man and demon," I say. "I think it's clear which vampire the Shanshu prophecy talked about."

It's the final blow, and with a guilty look and a lowered head, Angel leaves the building quietly. Dawn follows after giving Spike a hug and me a smile, leaving me alone with the man I love.

"You chose me." There's no mistaking the awe and wonder in those words.

"Why wouldn't I?" I ask him, as if it's obvious. "I love you."

"No, you-"

I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. "Every time you try saying those words, that's what you'll get," I tell him once I pull away.

"Then I'll say them more often."

I roll my eyes with a smile before hitting hit arm playfully. "Pig."

He chuckles, but then looks hesitant. "You…you really mean it?"

"Spike, you went against your nature to protect me, even when magic mojo should've stopped you. How could I _not_ love you?"


End file.
